Written Answers Tuesday 20 November 2007

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its targets are for increasing participation rates for sport in schools, colleges, universities and the community in the lead-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what campaigns it is planning to increase participation rates for sport in schools, colleges, universities and the community in the lead-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Fiona Hyslop: This government is committed not only to ensuring that the games in 2014 are the best sporting event that this country has ever seen, but also that the games are used as a catalyst for social change. We have an unrivalled opportunity to really use the power of sport to inspire people of all ages, but particularly our children to lead active and healthy lives.

  We will be developing an outline plan over the next 100 days on how we intend to secure that as part of a lasting legacy for everyone in Scotland from these games.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-4657 by Michael Russell on 24 October 2007, when it expects to reach a final conclusion on the action to be taken to address the implications for single farm payments of Scottish Natural Heritage management agreements and when farmers and crofters whose single farm payments have been affected by such agreements will be informed of the effect of the conclusion on their payments.

Michael Russell: Following extensive consideration it is now clear that the terms of the Financial Guidelines for management agreements do not provide Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) with any basis on which to make payments that compensate for loss of subsidies not linked to production such as single farm payments. The concessionary payments sought by land managers would not secure specific additional public benefit. On that basis, expenditure of public money for the purpose of making such concessionary payments could not be justified. SNH will inform land managers who have raised concerns about this issue with them as soon as possible. They will also be willing to advise on Rural Development Contract options under the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

Child Welfare

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop a national strategy for children and young people who are looked after away from home, in light of the No Time to Lose manifesto developed by the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care.

Adam Ingram: The national foster and kinship care strategy will be published by the end of 2007.

  I share the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care’s (SIRCC) vision of residential child care as a positive option for some children and young people. The Scottish Government intends to identify, with SIRCC and other relevant organisations, proposals to support the residential child care sector to improve its contribution to the lives of and improved outcomes for vulnerable children.

Child Welfare

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether existing provision in residential and foster care is sufficient to meet the needs of children and young people who are looked after away from home and whether there is regular monitoring of such provision.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government’s forthcoming National Foster and Kinship Care Strategy will recognise the need for more foster carers and it will set out ways of working with COSLA, local authorities and independent foster carer providers to identify more effective approaches to the local recruitment and retention of foster carers.

  The first annual inspection of fostering services by the Care Commission was published on 14 November and stated there were 527 children who are not in a foster placement of choice.

  The Social Work Inspection Agency’s performance management inspection of each local authority’s social work functions will record the number of places available in the local provision of foster and residential care and, where necessary, make recommendations for improvement.

  Each local authority is required by statute to prepare and publish, in consultation with partners in health and other agencies, a plan for the provision of relevant services for children in their area. This plan should cover services for children in need, including those in residential care.

Child Welfare

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of residential care homes are housing more children than they are licensed to care for.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally.

  If an inspection of a care home by the Care Commission reveals that a child or young person has been admitted on an emergency basis, it will consider the situation carefully based on the best interests of the child and with reference to its policy on this matter.

Child Welfare

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all children who are looked after away from home have access to independent advocacy.

Adam Ingram: The provision of advocacy services for looked after and accommodated children will be decided by each local authority.

  Who Cares? Scotland receives a grant from the Scottish Government to support its independent advocacy service to looked after children in 29 of the 32 local authorities.

Economy

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will evaluate the competitiveness of the economy over the next four years.

John Swinney: As set out in the Government Economic Strategy, competitiveness will be evaluated by comparing Scotland’s productivity performance to that of other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how often the Discipline Stakeholder Group has met since its inception and on what dates.

Maureen Watt: Since its inception in 2004, the Discipline Stakeholder Group (DSG) has met approximately twice a year. I expect that pattern to continue. The most recent meetings took place on: 6 September 2006, chaired by Peter Peacock; 1 March 2007, chaired by Hugh Henry, and 13 November 2007, chaired by myself.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is being made to address mental health issues at the earliest opportunity and to ensure appropriate services for all people with mental health problems.

Shona Robison: We are working with all partners on early diagnosis. Through this we would expect to see a more positive impact on the person and their diagnosis as the earliest possible intervention and support of the right services at the right time will have a much greater effect.

  The soon to be published NHS Quality Improvement Scotland standards for Integrated Care Pathways for mental health will underline that carefully considered assessment and early intervention provide the basis for successful care planning and delivery.

  Attention on the mental health needs of children and young people underlines another linked aspect, that of early age identification of needs. The work we are taking forward with NHS Education for Scotland focuses on training and developing child psychotherapists and at opportunities for wider education and reach including family therapy training. We are investing £500,000 over the coming years towards this agenda.

  Our national and local public health and anti stigma campaigns also play a part in encouraging more to come forward sooner for help and advice.

Ministerial Committees

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultative committees, groups, councils and other bodies have been set up by ministers since 16 May 2007 and what the estimated cost is of running them.

John Swinney: The following groups have been set up by the Scottish Government since 16 May 2007. For the avoidance of doubt, these are not formally constituted organisations. Most of the groups are short-life in nature and have been set up to provide external expertise and advice to support the government in the delivery of its commitments. I have included running costs where applicable for this financial year.

  

 Name
 Estimated Cost


 Council of Economic Advisers
£30,000


 Dementia Forum 2007
 none (note 5)


 Food Forum
£5,000


 Get Ready for Work (Working Group)
 none (note 5)


 Glasgow 2014 Strategic Group
 none (note 5)


 Housing Supply Statistics Group
 none (note 5)


 Housing Supply Task Force
£4,000


 Independent Review of Free Personal and Nursing Care (Sutherland Review)
£50,000


 Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities
 none (note 5)


 National Fostering and Kinship and Care Strategy ad hoc Working Group
 (note 1)


 National Working Group on Young Runaways
£3,500


 NHS Car Parking Review Group
 none (note 5)


 NHS Independent Scrutiny Panels (note 4)
£150,000


 EU Structural Funds Programme Monitoring Committees (PMCs)
£3,800 – (note 2)


 Scottish Fisheries Council
£25,000


 Research Advisory Group following the Scottish Report of National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness
 none (note 5)


 Scottish Broadcasting Commission
£500,000 - (note 3)


 Scottish Futures Trust Working Group
 (note 1)


 Scottish Prisons Commission
 (note 1)


 Seasonal Flu Review Steering Group
 none (note 5)


 The Curriculum for Excellence: Engagement Governing Group
 none (note 5)


 The Expert Panel on Low Carbon Buildings
£10,000


 The Forth Road Bridge Bill Reference Group
 none (note 5)


 The Tay Road Bridge Bill Reference Group
 none (note 5)


 Total
£781, 300



  Notes:

  1. This body is undertaking its work within existing budgets.

  2. As required by EU regulations, the Scottish Government has established new PMCs to monitor delivery of the 2007-13 ESF programmes.

  3. This is a provisional allocation. Discussions are on-going about costs and ministers expect the actual cost to be less than the provisional allocation.

  4. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has established two Independent Scrutiny Panels to consider proposals for future NHS services in Clyde and the revised proposals for accident and emergency services in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.

  5. Other than modest incidental expenses.

NHS Equipment

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the quality of the NHS wheelchair service, including replacements, assessments and repairs.

Shona Robison: Following the independent review Moving Forward: Review of NHS Wheelchair and Seating Services in Scotland , I have established a project board and appointed a project manager to carry out an in-depth analysis of the 40 recommendations of the review. This includes those recommendations that relate to replacements, assessments and repairs.

  By December 2008, the project team will produce a costed Action Plan on the delivery of the recommendations identified, including evidence-based outcomes and timescales, for my approval. They will then implement those needs-based recommendations that are achievable, measurable and deliver the greatest benefit to all those who access the services.

NHS Equipment

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address financial and funding inequalities that impact on wheelchair users and when it will implement any such plans.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-6287 on 20 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Following the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review, over the next three years £16 million of additional funds (£4 million in 2008-09, £6 million in 2009-10 and £6 million in 2010-11) will be allocated to modernise and redesign NHS wheelchair and seating services.

  However, the additional resources will only be released following the Scottish Government’s approval of robust, fully costed, business cases from each of the five wheelchair centres in Scotland, and taking into account the action plan on the implementation of those recommendations flowing from the independent review that will be of most benefit to all those who access the services.

NHS Waiting Times

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition is of a "routine condition" in terms of the 18-week GP referral to treatment referred to in Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-4584 on 18 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The term "routine condition" is used to describe planned acute hospital admissions, in contrast to urgent or emergency admissions. Patients assessed by clinicians as requiring urgent or emergency admission will continue to be dealt with immediately, and consequently maximum waiting times targets are not relevant to them. Currently more than 55% of hospital patients are treated immediately and never go on to a waiting list.

  As already announced, the abolition of Availability Status Codes from 31 December 2007 will mean that thousands of patients previously excluded from waiting time targets will be included. I have already indicated that patients using audiology services will also be included in the 18 week GP referral to treatment target.

National Health Service

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that any discrimination within an NHS board area on the basis of postcode rather than medical need would be acceptable.

Nicola Sturgeon: There are policies and processes in place to ensure equity of access to care and treatment for all NHS patients. We expect NHS boards to adhere to these policies. If the member is concerned about discrimination in relation to a specific service or a particular patient or group of patients, I suggest that he take that up with the NHS board in question, or with me.

Parliamentary Questions

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-4325 which received a holding reply on 4 October 2007.

John Swinney: A substantive answer to S3W-4325 was provided on 20 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Police

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which police forces have personnel who have signed up to the 30+ scheme.

Kenny MacAskill: All police forces in Scotland, apart from Tayside Police, have police officers signed up to the 30+ scheme.

Rail Services

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the policy of First ScotRail that young persons railcards are not valid between 6.00 am and 9.15 am from Monday to Friday.

Stewart Stevenson: The Young Persons Railcard is a Great Britain-wide discounted ticketing scheme operated by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) on behalf of all train operating companies. The product is one of a series of discount schemes provided by the previous nationalised rail industry that was protected at the time of privatisation. First ScotRail is obliged by the terms of its franchise agreement to make the product available to passengers. The terms and conditions of the scheme are controlled through ATOC by a council drawing representation from all passenger train operating companies. The Scottish Government has no plans or locus to investigate the policies related to the scheme.

Schools

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether problems of indiscipline are greater in secondary schools than in primary schools.

Maureen Watt: The National Discipline Survey Behaviour in Scottish Schools (2006) found that secondary school staff were consistently more likely than their primary counterparts to identify indiscipline as a serious problem. The rate of exclusion is also higher in secondary schools.

Schools

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive at what stage or stages in secondary schools the problem of indiscipline is greatest.

Maureen Watt: The national survey of discipline in Scottish schools Behaviour in Scottish schools (2006)  reported that staff perceived pupils in S2 to S4 as the most poorly behaved. The rate of exclusion is highest at S2 to S4.

Schools

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive at what stage or stages in primary schools the problem of indiscipline is greatest.

Maureen Watt: The national survey of behaviour in Scottish schools Behaviour in Scottish Schools (2006)  reported that staff perceived pupils in primary 6 and 7 to be the most poorly behaved. The rate of exclusion is highest in P6 and P7.

Scottish Government's Assets

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth meant when he advised the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee on 7 November 2007 that the headquarters of Scottish Enterprise at Atlantic Quay, Glasgow, would be part of a review of the Scottish Government’s assets ( Official Report , c. 205).

John Swinney: The asset review is being conducted on the Scottish Government estate, including non-departmental public bodies, agencies and other associated bodies. The review therefore includes Scottish Enterprise’s headquarters at Atlantic Quay.

Special Advisers

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-4830 by John Swinney on 31 October 2007, whether rules 4.15 and 7.22 of the Scottish Ministerial Code have been observed in relation to unpaid advisers.

John Swinney: Paragraph 7.22 of the Scottish Ministerial Code has been applied to the expenditure involved in one overseas visit by the one member of the special adviser team who is unpaid. Paragraph 4.15 would apply only to an unpaid adviser who is not a special adviser.

Supporting People

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the strategic spending review will take into account that planned expenditure on the Supporting People programme for 2006-07 was £387 million.

Stewart Maxwell: The government’s spending plans for the period 2008-11 were announced on 14 November. Within the tightest settlement for Scotland since devolution, our plans set out how we will fulfil our purpose, achieve our strategic objectives and deliver for the people of Scotland across all expenditure programmes. As part of our new relationship with local government, maximising efficiencies at the local level through gradually reducing the burden associated with the administration and auditing of separate funding streams, the Supporting People budget has been transferred into the local government finance settlement, with significantly enhanced flexibilities on how it can best be used to support individual clients.

Terrorism Act 2000

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what will happen to the information gathered during the police operation at Central Station, Glasgow, on 31 October 2007 under section 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Kenny MacAskill: I understand the operation was carried out by the British Transport Police (BTP). The Scottish Government has no functions in relation to BTP. However, under the 2000 Act BTP are required to send information on all stops and searches that take place and the ethnicity of the persons searched to the Home Office.

Transport

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its latest estimates are of the (a) cost and (b) date of completion of the (i) Stirling/Alloa/Kincardine rail line, (ii) Borders rail line, (iii) Airdrie to Bathgate rail line, (iv) Glasgow Airport rail link, (v) M74 completion, (vi) upgrade of the M80 Stepps to Haggs, (vii) M8 Baillieston to Newhouse project and (viii) A90 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Stewart Stevenson: Latest estimates for the following projects:

  (i) Stirling/Alloa/Kincardine Rail Line

  The cost for the construction of the Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine project is currently estimated to be up to £85 million and the project remains on target to commission in March 2008 with operational services forecast to commence in May 2008.

  (ii) Borders Rail Line

  Transport Scotland is continuing a due-diligence review of the Borders railway as it prepares to take on the role of Authorised Undertaker for the railway, a role that it is assuming at the behest of the previous Administration. Therefore, until this exercise is complete, it is not prudent to speculate what the final cost and date of completion of the project is likely to be.

  (iii) Airdrie to Bathgate Rail Line

  The estimated cost of the Airdrie to Bathgate rail line is an outturn of up to £375 million, with a delivery date of December 2010.

  (iv) Glasgow Airport Rail Link

  As announced in Parliament on 27 June 2007, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and Network Rail (NR) are working together to combine the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) with NR’s Paisley Corridor Renewal (PCR) project, with the consequence that GARL services would be introduced around a year later than previously advised.

  Transport Scotland, SPT and NR have, over the Parliament’s summer recess, worked to develop the detailed schedule, cost and risk models for the integrated projects and we will provide the Parliament with an update as soon as is possible.

  The integration of these two projects will minimise the disruption on what is one of Scotland’s busiest rail corridors.

  (v) M74 Completion

  The current cost estimate is £375 million to £500 million. The project is currently being tendered and the final cost and delivery date will not be known until this process is concluded.

  (vi) Upgrade of the M80 Stepps to Haggs

  The current cost estimate is in the range £130 million - £150 million. The project is currently being tendered and the final cost will not be known until this process is concluded. We anticipate construction completion 2010-11

  (vii) M8 Baillieston to Newhouse Project

  The current cost estimate is in the range £170 million - £210 million, based on the risks as currently identified, but we will continue to monitor both in light of prevailing tender prices for roads contracts. We anticipate construction completion 2012-13.

  (viii) A90 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route

  The current cost estimate is in the range £295 million - £395 million, based on the risks as currently identified, but we will continue to monitor both in light of prevailing tender prices for roads contracts. We anticipate construction completion by the end of 2012.